


Falling For You (Alternatively Tangled Up)

by stealyourbones_dot_png (deadinside_dot_com)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Iruma Miu Being Iruma Miu, Iruma Miu's Dirty Mouth, M/M, Oma Kokichi Is a Little Shit, amaguji is my drv3 otp-, amami rantaro is like gay as fuck, but i still hate miyadera, crack idea that turned into a serious fic, fantasy au that is loosely based on rapunzel, i hate her, i hate miyadera shinguji, i love them, kiyo and rantaro are so gay and very good friends, korekiyo is a good person who just wants to watch people, korekiyo's sister is an absolute jackass, sister is named Miyadera, so much, so uhh no incest bc kiyo deserved better than that, the incest arc is not a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 11:53:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21208091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadinside_dot_com/pseuds/stealyourbones_dot_png
Summary: Korekiyo Shinguji was happy with how life was. Just him and his sister, living alone together. He wasn't allowed outside, but it was a peaceful existance.Sister told him she was just going to leave for a few days.Then, a charming adventurer with a slight case of kleptomania comes stumbling into his tower and flips his entire life upside down.





	Falling For You (Alternatively Tangled Up)

**Author's Note:**

> hoo boy i'm really proud of this. it's so long. i'm sorry-
> 
> I literally hate miyadera?? what a bitch ass motherfucker??
> 
> kiyo is a good boye please let him live

Korekiyo Shinguji lived alone with his sister in a tower in the middle of the woods.

It sounded weird at first, but she cared for them.

She went away every so often, but would always return with food and supplies.

Kiyo would pass the time by painting his room with all sorts of murals and portraits, mostly of himself and Sister.

The only other creature he had was a small light green snake with one blind eye he had dubbed Xelfie as a younger child.

Xelfie liked to curl himself around Korekiyo's bedpost.

Kiyo would let him.

The slender creature would disappear for days at a time, but he'd always return without fail.

Kiyo stared out the main window, their door to the outside world.

Sister had always told him not to leave, drilling it into his head.

_It's awful dangerous out there, dear._

_I'm all you need._

_We have each other, right?_

"Of course." He'd replied.

_You'll never leave me, **right?**_

"Of course."

_Good._

_You are to obey my every command._

"Absolutely." He'd answered, nodding enthusiatically.

_I'm doing this because I love you, don't ever forget that._

He shook the memory from his mind, sighing loudly.

She'd be back soon.

He'd ought to tidy up.

\---

Kiyo smiled happily when Sister returned.

"I'm going to have to leave again, soon." She said.

"That's alright, I can manage on my own." He replied.

He had a burning question he needed to ask her, but he couldn't find the courage to spit it out.

"You look like something's troubling you. It's good not to let these things stew, you know." She said, her tone of voice absolutely screaming _Tell me now or I'll kick your ass._

For someone so sick, she could beat a bitch up.

That's why he needed to stay with her, she was so very sick.

His hands could heal her.

He could heal her.

But she always demanded he keep his hands wrapped up in those bandages.

So nobody but her could have him.

But he wanted to go _outside._

The feeling plagued his mind and body, the desire to find a way to _leave._

She cared about him, and provided for them both, but he wanted to see the _people._

He'd been fascinated by other people ever since he was little, ever since Sister had whisked them away to their godforsaken tower in the middle of the woods.

He wanted to watch them, study them, be among them.

But she never let him.

She'd always suppressed his desire to truly be **human.**

And this was what the question was about.

"Well?" She said, impatiently.

"My birthday is coming up soon." He said after a moment of hesitation.

"Yes, July 31st. What of it?"

"I have to admit, it is the same question I always ask." He said, looking down in embarrassment.

Thank goodness his mask covered the lower half of his face, preventing her from seeing his flushed face.

He knew what her answer would be.

"What do I always tell you?" She said, an exasperated sigh leaving her mouth.

"That it's unsafe. But I-"

"_You want to be **'among the people.'**_" She said, mockingly. "What you don't understand is that people are cruel. You don't want to be with them, they'll only hurt you. Plus, who would keep me from getting sicker?"

A small droplet of doubt springing into his mind proclaimed _"Why does she always twist your most internal desires into something quite selfish? It's not fair."_, but was soon squashed by his usual thought of _"She keeps us safe and happy. I shouldn't do anything to upset her."_

"I apologize for suggesting something so selfish." He said, bowing his head in shame.

\---

"I must leave again, I'm sorry." Sister said, already packing her things up into her bag.

"It's alright, I'll manage."

She left without another word.

\---

Rantaro was running.

From who?

Not important right now.

He slid among the trees, weaving in and out of each oak to avoid being shot with the many crossbows targeting him.

"Shit shit shit shit, fuck, fuck no," He grunted, tripping over a tree root and tumbling down a hill.

"The jig is up, Amami!" He heard a feminine voice say, targeting him with her crossbow.

Tsumugi Shirogane.

The leader of the palace guards, for the tyranny that was Queen Junko.

Junko led independently, and she was a selfish ruler.

There were an unnecessary amount of MonoKuma units on black or white horses behind Shirogane, all ready to shoot him dead.

His backpack was weighing him down.

He shouldn't have let those fucking goons Kokichi and Miu convince him to plan a heist on Junko's plentiful riches.

Stuffed with a specific gold pendant, he couldn't let that damn backpack out of his sight.

He had a few choices, none of them good, and at least three or four ending up with him dead or with broken limbs.

He weighed his options, and eventually decided to jump backwards and slip down the steep cliff behind him.

"No!" Tsumugi shouted, pointing her crossbow after him.

He'd managed to slip into a nook and use it as a hand-hold to make sure he wouldn't die.

He manuvered his way down the cliff, eventually landing at the bottom.

"Big fucking ouch." He groaned to himself, and went to lean on a rock.

Except there was no rock there.

He fell through a wall of vines and stumbled through a cave-like structure.

Rantaro took a deep breath, and spotted a large stone tower in the middle of the clearing hidden behind this wall of foliage.

Making his way toward the tower, he decided he'd just have to climb it.

It was quite a tough endeavor, but he made it to the top.

Opening the window, he was met with the sight of an androgynous-looking human, and then he felt a powerful blow knock him unconcious.

\---

Kiyo was, for the most part, shocked and concerned.

There was... a person in his tower.

Where did he come from?

How did he find him?

The other man was unconcious on the floor, head slowly bleeding.

_Oh no! I hope I didn't kill him!_ Kiyo thought, panicking.

He leaned down, gently placing his bandaged fingers onto the other boy's neck, feeling for a pulse.

He was alive, heart pounding steadily.

Kiyo decided to tie him to a chair with the red straw rope Sister hid inside one of the many pots inside their house.

\---

Rantaro awoke with a throbbing pain in his skull, eyes blinking open.

A face came into view, directly in front of his own, with bright yellow, almost snake-like, eyes staring directly into his soul.

"Interesting. It appears I did not give you a serious concussion, as your pupils are of equal size."

"Jesus Christ, you did a number on me." Rantaro said, shaking his unruly green-tea hair out of his face. "What the actual FUCK did you hit me with?" 

"Such language is unnecessary."

"You nearly bashed my brains in!"

"Unimportant. I wasn't quite sure how you would react in such a situation, but I've never had much of a chance to observe other humans."

Rantaro snorted, and the face moved backwards.

The figure he had once described as androgynous came clearly into his line of sight, but the other figure was now decidedly male.

He had waist-length dark hair, seemingly green and blue and black all at once.

His strikingly yellow eyes were still easy to make out in the darkness of the room the two boys occupied.

He had a mask that covered the lower half of his face, and gloves that covered his hands.

His green uniform had a red band on the arm, and he was incredibly tall. Rantaro mentally placed him at about 6'2 to 6'3.

The tall boy kneeled in front of Rantaro, his hand reaching out to tilt his chin upwards.

"I apologize for any damage done, but Sister has told me not to trust others." He said, more to himself than anyone in particular.

"What should I call you? Cryptid seems too rude for the moment." Rantaro said, a hint of a smile gracing his face.

"Why don't you tell me your name first?"

"My name is Rantaro Amami. Now will you _please_ untie me?"

"I may, but what would you give me in return?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You must have _something_ valuable you can give me."

"I have gold!" 

"Stolen gold."

"Tch." Rantaro grunted. "How'd you know?"

"I didn't. But thank you for confirming my suspicion." The other male said, his eyes crinkling in what Rantaro assumed was a smile.

"Damn."

"You are a thief, if I am correct?" 

"Yeah, pretty much. Rantaro Amami, traveling adventurer and scoundrel, at your service." He said in a joking tone.

"Wait, adventurer?"

"Yep."

"Sister never lets me leave the tower." He mumbled to himself. "How about this, I let you go, and you accompany me down to the world below?"

Rantaro was surprised at how easy the request would be to fulfill.

"Sure, why not!"

"You'd show me around?" The tall boy said, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, that's alright with me. Am I to know the name of my new traveling buddy?"

The other boy hesitated for a moment.

"Korekiyo Shinguji, aspiring anthropologist."

\---

Rantaro sat there for a full minute before Korekiyo had remembered to untie him, but he was _free_ now.

"Here, your hair might get caught on things. May I?" Rantaro said, holding a hair tie out and motioning towards Korekiyo's hair.

The anthropologist flushed lightly, and agreed after a moment.

He kneeled down, and Rantaro ran his fingers through the other boy's dark hair.

It was very soft, surprisingly so.

Rantaro worked his careful fingers to do Korekiyo's hair, a neat braid now trailing down his back.

He tied it, and exclaimed "Alright, all ready to go! One question, how are we going to get down?"

Korekiyo motioned towards the red rope, and pointed to a notch carved into the windowsill.

"That's how Sister always gets down."

"How are we going to retrieve the rope after we get down?"

Korekiyo was silent for a second.

"I'm sure we can wiggle it free."

Just then, Xelfie uncoiled himself from somewhere and aggressively dropped onto Rantaro's back from the ceiling of the tower.

"Shit!" Amami screeched, shaking the snake loose and hastily scrambled away from him.

"You do use a lot of unnecessary language, don't you?"

"It took me by surprise, that's all!"

"Okay, so called 'Fearless Adventurer'." Kiyo giggled.

Xelf curled himself around Korekiyo's arm, and the tall boy gently stroked the top of the snake's head with a fingertip.

He deposited the reptile onto his bed.

"Let us go, one at a time."

\---

Kiyo tied the rope to a cabinet in a manner that ensured it could be freed with the proper movements.

He motioned for Rantaro to go first, and he made sure that he wouldn't fall.

Once Rantaro had made it to the bottom, Kiyo took a deep breath.

He was going to leave his old life behind.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that he was going to upset her, but for once in his life, he _didn't care._

He took the plunge into the great unknown.

Sliding down the rope a tad faster than he had intended, Rantaro caught him at the bottom.

"Hey, are you good?" Rantaro asked nervously, the other boy blushing furiously in embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm alright. I apologize for being an inconvenience, I thought I could stop myself-"

"Korekiyo, it's fine."

"You can call me Kiyo." He blurted out, flush still decorating what was exposed of his rosy cheeks.

"Oh, okay, Kiyo!" 

\---

Kiyo slowly stepped out of Rantaro's arms, his feet covered with boots he'd taken from Sister's room, as they had around the same shoe size.

He kneeled in the grass, taking it all it.

It felt so _clean,_ and _new,_ and _fresh._

He'd never experienced life before, not like this.

Walking slowly through the clearing, he took several deep breaths.

The silence was broken by Rantaro's utterance of "You look like this is the first time ever being outside." 

Kiyo responded "I must have before, but this is the first time I've remembered doing so."

"How old even are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Oh, I'm eighteen." Rantaro replied.

Kiyo walked towards the opening in the cave wall, saying "Well, what are we waiting for?" in an excited tone.

\---

Rantaro didn't quite understand why Kiyo was so enamored by the prospect of getting a little fresh air until he figured out he quite literally wasn't allowed out of the house.

Rantaro hadn't heard much about this "Sister" gal, but he didn't trust her one bit.

They had been walking through the forest for ages, and Kiyo had kept his manic yet excited energy up for the entire trek.

Somehow.

The other boy was quite eccentric, sure, but he was happy.

Rantaro liked seeing him happy.

For some reason.

He hadn't known Kiyo for longer than a day, but he felt some weird spiritual connection.

As if they were friends, or maybe even lovers, in a past life (but Rantaro wasn't one for sappy thoughts such as those.)

It was beginning to grow dark, and Rantaro hadn't gotten a good sleep since he'd been on the run.

So about four or five days.

"Do you wanna take a break?" Rantaro asked, turning his head back in Kiyo's direction.

"I am growing rather tired." Korekiyo admitted.

"Well, if we walk for another two or so hours- Nevermind, that's too far. I'm too tired for that shit."

Kiyo giggled. "You sure do use a lot of foul language, Amami."

"As you've told me, oh, _thirteen times?_"

Kiyo laughed.

"We can make a camp somewhere around here." Rantaro sighed, pointing out a small clearing between a few trees. "I have a tent and a blanket and whatever. We'll have to share."

"I do not mind."

Rantaro began pitching the small tent that he kept in his backpack.

Korekiyo looked clearly unsure of what to do, so he kept himself out of the way.

Once Rantaro had finished, it was completely dark.

He tossed the small blanket into the tent, and dove into their makeshift home, giggling like they were both little kids.

Kiyo hesitantly followed him in.

"Is it going to collapse on us? Can rain get in?"

"Have you never been- right, sorry. It won't collapse, and rain can't get in. It'll be okay, I hope it's comfortable for you."

Kiyo curled himself into a small ball and laid next to where Rantaro sat down.

For someone with such long legs, he was surprisingly compact.

Rantaro laid down, and said "Welp. Good night."

After a while, he realized he couldn't sleep.

Something about Kiyo was bothering him, like he knew him from somewhere else.

He stared at the ceiling of the tent, breathing heavily.

It took him a minute, but he realized that Kiyo wasn't sleeping, either.

"Hey, you okay?" He said after a moment of silence.

Kiyo laid there with a look of pure terror on his face, eyes wide open.

He hesitated for a moment, but said "She's going to be _very_ upset with me." quietly.

"I shouldn't have come with you, it was a bad idea. I do not want her to be mad at me."

"Hey, what's she gonna do? Find you in the middle of the woods with a _very handsome_ young man and then beat your ass? She can't find you here, I'll make sure of it."

Korekiyo laughed sadly, and sighed loudly.

"I suppose."

"Hey." Rantaro said, grabbing Kiyo's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "You'll be okay."

Kiyo faced Rantaro and gently pressed his face into his shoulder.

Rantaro put his arm around him and hugged him close, trying to even his breath out.

"It's rather odd." Korekiyo began. "I've known you for around thirteen hours and I already trust you with my heart and soul. Is that weird?"

"Dude, I feel the same way. This is going to sound cheesy as hell, but I feel like I've known you for my whole life. Like in another universe or life or whatever, we're friends.

"That... makes an awful lot of sense. The concept of reincarnation has been around for quite a while, but it's mainly kept alive through the beliefs of some religions. It differs from religion to religion, as some believe you are a soul passed down from human to human as a vessel, and others believe that the actions of your current life dictate the vessel of the next."

"You sure know a lot for someone who's apparently never left the house."

"I've had nothing to do for seventeen years. I've done a lot of reading."

"Makes sense."

"Thank you, Rantaro." Kiyo sighed, burying his face deeper into Rantaro's shoulder.

"Try to get some sleep, now, okay?"

"Alright."

\---

Korekiyo awoke in Rantaro's arms, sighing deeply.

His first night away from the tower, and he spent it in a boy's arms.

A boy he barely knew, but trusted with his whole being.

Rantaro eventually stirred, and they began packing up their things.

"So, I know where we can stop next."

"And where would that be?"

"I have some friends that own a tavern. They're kind of the reason I'm on the run right now, but-"

"Oh, you're on the run?" Kiyo exclaimed. "How exciting! What did you do?"

"I stole some gold from the tyrannical queen who runs this goddamn country, and then my friends set me up to take the fall for it. I need to go to their tavern anyways, to give them a stern-ass talking-to."

"That sounds more interesting than being locked in a tower for seventeen years." Kiyo remarked distastefully.

"Eh, I'd rather be safe and doing nothing all day."

"But it gets rather boring, having to read the same books over, and over, and over again."

"At least you had history books, and you're really smart."

"It still gets boring, even if it happens to be a subject I am rather passionate about."

They began walking, idle chatter filling the deafening silence of the forest.

"What are your traitorous aquaintances called?"

"There are two of them, one is a light pinkish-blonde girl named Miu Iruma with a mouth more foul than mine and a passion for inventing things, and the other is a compulsive liar with dark purple hair named Kokichi Ouma who likes to make fun of other people, specifically me and Miu. I have no clue how they're still friends, they act like siblings who hate each other."

"I didn't know siblings were supposed to hate each other. Sister cares about me and is very kind."

"She doesn't sound like she lets you be yourself."

"It's a peaceful existance, I suppose. She says she loves me but sometimes I feel like she's indifferent. She's very sick, which is rather unfortunate."

"That's... too bad. Well, siblings don't always hate each other, I have two younger sisters who I used to be really close with."

"What happened?"

"They left home. I don't know where they are." Rantaro said sadly.

"Oh." Kiyo said, looking down in a somber fasion.

"It's alright, I haven't seen them in forever, anyways."

They began walking through the forest, a thick, deafening silence filling the air.

"We should arive at the Tavern around noon." Rantaro said after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Oh. Alright."

"How ya holdin up there?"

"I'm... rather unaccustomed to walking." Korekiyo admitted with a strained smile.

"Oh. I shouldn't be surprised." Rantaro laughed in response.

\---

Rantaro knew they were close, but that also meant that they were close to regular society, and Tsumugi Shirogane and her goons would find them.

He didn't want to put Kiyo through that.

They connected so... so _easily._

Rantaro knew that Kiyo had immediately grown fond of him, and seeing the only person that the other boy had at the moment get, well, _executed?_

It couldn't be good for his mental health.

That's what Queen Junko did.

Executions.

They were rather personalized, suiting the crime or the victim's occupation.

Rantaro had seen a few executions in his time, and _none were pretty._

They were so morbidly entertaining, one couldn't even look away.

A sick, twisted part of Rantaro wondered what his own execution would be, but he shook the thought off.

They came upon an actual path.

"Oh! We should be about a mile or so away. Just 20 or so more minutes and we'll have a place to stay for the night."

"That's a relief." Kiyo sighed, appreciatively.

After the alloted period of time, they actually reached a small building in the middle of the road.

Kiyo nearly collapsed on the side of the road, and Rantaro could tell he was aching to get out of the heat of the afternoon sun.

But, hey, they made it!

Rantaro practically kicked open the door and shouted "You have an awful lot of explaining to do, dickweeds!"

The other patrons stared at him in discomfort and astonishment, while a tall girl with crazy light pink hair said "Oh! Hey, fucker!"

"Iruma! You absolute jackass!" Rantaro said, loudly.

"Hey, I didn't know Shirogane would go after you, virgin!"

"We're going to have _a talk._"

"Come into the back room, then! 'Kichi is there too!" Miu said, passive-aggressively, as if Kokichi's presence would prevent Rantaro from _choking her to death._

Kiyo stood there awkwardly, not quite sure what to do.

"You. With me. Now." Rantaro said, pissed.

Kiyo stumbled over.

Rantaro grabbed Kiyo's arm, then realized he was being too harsh with the inexperienced younger boy.

He shook his head, loosening his grip on Kiyo's arm.

"Sorry for being so harsh, I'm just pissed."

"It's alright, it's not much different than how I get treated at home."

Rantaro stared blankly, and mumbled. "Hey, man, that's kind of not good."

Kiyo shrugged, then followed Rantaro into the back room.

A small figure with strikingly purple hair sat on a table back there.

"Heeeeeeey Lettuce-Head! Honestly, I thought you'd gotten executed by now."

"You little-"

"Nishishi! I'm just teasing!" The other boy giggled.

"You're an asshole, Ouma! I almost got fuckin impaled by a _crossbow!_"

Miu groaned loudly.

"Where's the gold, Amami?" She said.

"As if I'd let you take anything I rightfully own! Well, stole. You didn't help at all! You just gave me a little info and set me up to get _killed!_"

"How about this," Miu groaned again, clearly exasperated. "We don't take any of the spoils, and you can stay here any fuckin' time you want! Okay? Fair? You and your _boy toy_ over there can take one of the rooms whenever you want. Just don't bother anyone else here with your dirty escapades!"

"You think we're gonna-"

"You never know!" Ouma winked at them, implying things Rantaro definitely intended _**not** to happen._

"Uh, okay, wow, that's actually disgusting."

"What is he implying?" Kiyo chimed from the back of the room.

"Trust me, you don't wanna-"

"Oh, you innocent soul!" Miu exclaimed. "He doesn't know what the Devil's Tango is!"

"You guys are the worst." Rantaro said, shaking his head in disapproval. 

"You never even introduced him to us!" Kokichi said, pouting in a child-like manner.

"This is my friend, Kiyo, who you so deviously tainted the innocent brain of."

Kiyo stared at them with a confused look on his face.

"Well, you can take whatever room you want. They only have one bed each, anyways, so you'll have to make do." Miu sighed exasperatedly, tossing a key ring in Rantaro's direction.

"Thanks, asshole!" 

"No problem, dickweed!"

\---

Kiyo dropped his things onto the floor and sighed loudly.

He flopped down onto the bed, and it was about the bed quality that you'd expect from a tavern.

He loved it anyways.

Rantaro flopped down next to him, and said promptly "Goodnight."

"I have a question, first."

"What?"

"What were they implying? What is the 'Devil's Tango'?"

Rantaro blushed deeply.

"Well, basically, uh-"

Kiyo giggled and waited for him to finish.

"Did your... sister ever teach you about, the um, _birds and the bees?_" Rantaro asked, face turning completely red.

Kiyo flushed, and muttered "Yes."

"They were implying that we would, um-"

He raised his eyebrow, following along but waiting for Rantaro to confirm his suspicions.

"Have, uh, sex." Rantaro muttered.

"They were suggesting that we were going to perform intercourse?" Kiyo said, an embarrased look on his face.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Kiyo laughed loudly.

"I don't see why they would think that."

"They're really immature."

"I gathered."

An awkward silence filled the dark room, and after a while, Kiyo could tell Rantaro wasn't sleeping either.

"What's your sister's name?" Rantaro asked, breaking the silence.

"Miyadera. Miyadera Shinguji."

"I recognize that name." Rantaro said suddenly, sitting up in the bed. "Where do I know that name from?"

Rantaro stared at the wall, a concentrated look on his face, and Kiyo could tell he was trying to think.

"Miyadera. Shinguji. Miya. Dera. Shin-"

He paled.

"Arsonist."

"What did you say?" Kiyo asked, fearful.

"I know where I know that name. The day after my sisters ran away, I was scanning the daily newspaper for updates. I saw that there was a fire down in the lower end of the city, a house burned down. Nothing else."

"And?"

"The main suspect was one Miyadera Shinguji, the daughter of the owners of the house. Your parents. They found quite a bit of evidence pointing to your sister, but the news report said that the suspect and her younger brother were never seen again."

"So... Sister... killed our parents? I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose! I know she didn't, she wouldn't-"

"She whisked you away to a tower in the woods. If she weren't guilty, why would she have fled?"

Kiyo was silent for a long time.

"It doesn't make any sense." He eventually said.

"I don't want to believe it." He said after Rantaro didn't reply.

"Sorry." Rantaro said quietly, extending his hand out to Kiyo.

He took the other boy's hand, gratefully.

"I'm sure you'll know the truth, someday."

"All I can do is hope."

"Sometimes a sliver of hope can keep you afloat." Rantaro said, a small smile on his face.

Kiyo had never met another boy before.

He'd never met a boy so _kind and caring._

He had read about human traditions and customs, and he knew about traditional relationships between two humans.

But never between two of the same sex.

Something inside him told him that it wasn't a bad thing, though.

He had never wanted to kiss another boy before.

In all fairness, he'd never wanted to kiss anyone before, as being stuck with your sister for your whole life would do that to someone.

But that same something inside him wanted him to kiss Rantaro.

Rather badly.

He tried to brush it off, but that impulse inside him blossomed into a flower that nestled itself deep inside Korekiyo's heart.

Rantaro squeezed his hand, and he practically couldn't take it anymore.

So he squeezed back.

Rantaro pulled him into a gentle hug, giving him an opportunity to back out if he wanted.

He gratefully leaned into the hug, cheek pressed against Rantaro's chest.

Rantaro stroked his hair and whispered sweet nothings into his forehead, and Kiyo sat up.

Rantaro looked him in the eyes, and Kiyo clumsily bumped their foreheads together.

It was quiet and dark in their room, aside from the sounds of the two boys breathing.

Kiyo reached up and pulled his mask off, exposing his lips.

Rantaro leaned in first, capturing the other boy's lips with his own.

It was gentle, just two pairs of lips clumsily pressed together.

Kiyo eventually pulled away, face now completely red.

"Sorry." Rantaro muttered in the darkness.

Kiyo didn't answer, but left another small peck on Rantaro's lips.

Rantaro grinned in the low light, and placed his hands on the side of Kiyo's face.

"Hey."

Kiyo stared back.

"Yes?"

Rantaro leaned in and kissed him again.

A _real_ kiss this time, not a clumsy or awkward one they'd had before.

It was firm and warm.

Kiyo melted, his arms reaching to wrap around Rantaro's waist.

Rantaro's tongue prodded gently at his lips, and he had no idea what to do.

He'd never been in a situation like this before.

He froze, and Rantaro backed away.

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm just... unexperienced."

"Here, follow my lead." Rantaro said, pressing their lips back together.

Their lips moved in a slow dance, and Rantaro's tongue came back to the entrance to his mouth.

Kiyo hesitated, and opened his mouth slowly.

Rantaro gently pressed his tongue into Kiyo's mouth, and gently caressed the taller boy's tongue with his own.

Kiyo pushed back, making a weird sound of satisfaction that he'd never experienced before.

It wasn't a moan, that was gross.

More like a verbal acknowledgement that Rantaro was making him happy.

They kissed until they ran out of breath, and then kissed some more after that.

Rantaro pushed Kiyo onto his back and they made out for what seemed like an eternity.

Kiyo eventually pulled away to breathe, but still held Rantaro in his arms.

Rantaro laid down, resting his head on the other boy's chest.

They laid there in peace and silence, catching their breath.

Kiyo began dozing off, dreaming sweet dreams of sweet nothings.

\---

Rantaro woke up at the absolute _asscrack_ of dawn, but he could hear Kiyo's heart beating steadily underneath his head.

Which was better than just waking up at the asscrack of dawn, he supposed.

Kiyo was still asleep, breathing in and out slowly.

Steadly.

Rantaro breathed in deeply, laying on the taller boy's body and just gently wrapping his arms around him.

Kiyo grumbled something in his sleep, and his eyes blinked open.

"Morning, tower boy."

"Good morning, 'Lettuce-head'."

"Rude."

"I am just quoting your vulgar friends."

Rantaro rolled off of Kiyo.

"C'mon, let's pack up and get going. Miu and Kokichi can give us food."

"Okay, Amami."

Kiyo pulled his mask back up.

They took their things and walked down the tavern stairs, ready to eat a proper meal instead of random non-poisonous berries found on the side of the trails and in the woods.

Miu was wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at them and Kokichi was in the back of the room, doing something or other.

Kokichi had donned a black and white checkered scarf, something he hadn't been wearing the day before.

Miu was wearing steampunk goggles on her forehead, and a much more rugged outfit than the one she had been wearing the night before.

"What's with the outfits?" Rantaro asked.

"Well, we wanted to tag along on your adventure to topple a tyrannical monarch!" Kokichi said excitedly

"No way! Absolutely not!" Rantaro said. "I promised Kiyo I'd show him around, then we'd... I don't exactly know what we were going to do after."

"I'm not sure I want to return to my tower, but I'll break Sister's heart if I don't."

_If she even **has** a heart._ Rantaro thought, but he wasn't about to voice his opinion to the only person he actively cared for in his life right now.

"That was a lie anyways! Nishishi!" Kokichi giggled maliciously, waving his hands around.

"We were gonna go out to get more parts for my inventions! This lyin' little abortion was only gonna carry my things for me!" Miu said, shooting Kokichi a dirty look.

"No goddamn way I'm carrying your things, you cow!" Kokichi shouted. "I lie a lot, but that's not a lie! I'm only going to see my beloved Shumai!" Kokichi said, his eyes lighting up weirdly.

"Who is 'Shumai?'" Kiyo asked quietly.

Rantaro sighed.

"'Shumai' is his sort-of-friend Shuichi Saihara, who he relentlessly teases and purposely flusters a lot." Rantaro muttered. "I don't know how they became friends but I think Kokichi might have a weird crush on him. I don't know what goes on in his head."

"Ah, that would make sense. Every day, I learn a little more about humans and our society!" Kiyo said happily, smiling under his mask.

Rantaro chuckled awkwardly, and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand.

"See ya around, Cabbage-Hair!" Miu shouted with a smug look on her face.

"Bye, Basic Wench! Let's go, Kiyo." 

Kiyo nodded and followed behind Rantaro.

"Where are we venturing to next?"

"I wanted to avoid the main city, because I'll get caught there."

"But it would be an awfully convenient place for me to people-watch." Kiyo said, and Rantaro could tell he was pouting under his mask.

He hadn't gotten a good look at his lips yet, but-

Nope. He wasn't going to get side-tracked by having gay thoughts about his new best friend.

Rantaro sighed rather loudly, thinking about the odds.

"Look, there's even a wanted poster for me." Rantaro said, pointing at an awfully-convenient-to-the-plot wanted poster of himself on a nearby tree.

"Dammit, they always get my hair wrong." Rantaro remarked in an upset tone.

This amused Korekiyo a great deal, apparently.

He was giggling at Rantaro for a long-ass time while they walked towards their destination.

Rantaro folded up his dumb wanted poster and put it in his backpack.

"At least they think I'm worth something." Rantaro said, in a light tone. "They said that they'll pay whoever turns me in about 100,000 dollars."

Kiyo gave him a meaningful look.

"Don't you dare."

Kiyo smirked under his mask, and said "Well, anyways, I think you are worth a great deal more than 100,000 dollars, Rantaro Amami."

Rantaro flushed and turned away from Kiyo, walking faster now. 

"Shut it, you."

"I'm just speaking the truth. Well, my version of the truth." Kiyo said, adjusting to the same pace.

Rantaro sighed, and whispered "If you say so."

\---

Rantaro was exhausted.

Kiyo had managed to convince him to go to the main city, and the thought of being there without getting massacred by the police was completely out of reach.

He bit his tongue, looking for a good place to set up their tent.

"Is everything quite alright, Amami? You look troubled." Kiyo said.

"Oh, it's nothing."

What was he supposed to say?

_Oh, hello Korekiyo! I'm freaking out because if we do what you want to do, I will most likely end up very, very dead. But that's okay, because I care about you, so we can do it anyways!_

That wasn't a good course of action.

"It certainly seems to be _something._" Kiyo replied.

"I promise, it's nothing you should be too worried about."

"Let me guess. You're thinking about how you'll get arrested or executed, seeing as you told me the queen was tyrannical, but you're trying not to express it because going to the city is something I want to do."

"You're good at reading people."

"Perhaps you're just easy to read." Kiyo teased.

"Maybe."

"We don't _have_ to go to the main city or anything. If you'd feel better not doing so, I am happy to oblige in not going."

"Kiyo, I can't just crush your dreams of something you've been talking about for days now-"

"It's perfectly okay."

"Really?"

"Really."

\---

They wandered through the forest together, just walking and talking.

Aimlessly drifting from place to place.

"Well, what are we going to do now? I fulfilled your request." Rantaro asked, dangling his feet off the edge of the tree branch they were sitting on together.

"I would go back to my tower, but that just doesn't seem... right anymore." Kiyo responded sadly.

"You don't have to go back."

"Sister is counting on me, I cannot just leave her alone."

Rantaro was quiet.

"She'll be furious at me." Kiyo said after a moment of staring blankly at the ground far below them.

Kiyo's hair had long since fallen out of the braid it once had been pulled into, but he now tied it out of his face in a low ponytail so he could see.

"Would she hit you?"

"I don't know. She's never done so before, but she doesn't have to, that's the thing."

"What does that mean?"

"She has a way of climbing into your skull with her words and tearing you apart from the inside." Kiyo said bluntly, it was the first time he'd ever really admitted that she wasn't an exactly healthy person to be around.

It felt like he was slowly chipping away at the wall he'd built up over the years, the wall that guilt tripped him into staying with her, helping her, doing practically whatever she wanted.

But now that he'd been to the _real_ world, he began to recognize that that behavior wasn't how someone was supposed to treat someone they cared about.

Rantaro cared about him, and he never did anything to upset or manipulate him.

Miu and Kokichi cared about each other in a weird sibling-like manner.

Banter and insults were thrown into every sentence, but none of it was meant to wound.

His hands could _heal people,_ but he never used it, or brought it up in conversation, or even mentioned it in passing.

Sister _needed_ him to help her heal, so she wouldn't be sick, **right?**

She cared about him, **right?**

**She'd never _lie_ to him, right?**

But she told him that humans were ugly, unforgiving creatures.

The ones he'd met had been absolutely _beautiful,_ with interesting and unique personalities.

_Why did she lie to him?_

\---

"I think I've decided." Kiyo said, reaching out to Rantaro, moving his hand across their branch, extending his pinky.

Rantaro moved his hand closer to Kiyo's, wrapping their pinkies together.

"What are you going to do?"

"I need to talk to Sister, but then I would like to get a fresh start."

"What do you mean by fresh start?"

Kiyo took a deep breath.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to accompany you on your travels. From now until the end of time."

Rantaro smiled softly, and whispered "Nothing in the world would make me happier."

\---

They began finding their way back to Kiyo's tower.

Kiyo knew he'd have to tell Sister he was leaving, and the guilt was eating him up inside.

But he thought she deserved to know _why._

At the very least.

He didn't know exactly where they were going, but Rantaro said he remembered where he fell through the "wall" quite clearly.

They wandered through greenery and tall grass, the sun beating down on them.

"I think we're close..." Rantaro mumbled after a while.

"You've been saying that for the past _hour,_ Amami."

"I'm telling the truth this time! Look, I think it's right there!"

Rantaro put his hand up to a wall of vines and shoved his hand through.

"Ha! Told you!" He said smugly.

Korekiyo rolled his eyes and smiled under his mask.

They pushed past the vines and into the cave, and Korekiyo took a deep breath.

Time to face Sister.

\---

Kiyo stared blankly up at the entrance to their tower, window thrown wide open.

After a moment of silence, he uttered "I will ascend first. If I do not make it clear to you within five minutes that I am in no danger, please go after me."

"Okay." Rantaro said fearfully.

Kiyo inhaled slowly, then approached the tower.

He tied a rock to the end of his rope, and threw it towards the window as hard as he could.

It hit the side of the tower and sailed back down.

Kiyo retrieved it and tried a few more times, then eventually made it into the window.

He tugged roughly on it a few times, but it didn't budge.

The tall boy began the tough ascent, slowly making his way up the slender red rope, and he could feel Rantaro's eyes boring into him from the ground below.

It took a really long time.

Like, _really long._

When his hands finally bumped the wooden windowsill, he was completely out of breath and his head was spinning from the pure height of his climb.

He hoisted himself in with strength he hadn't known he had left, tumbling clumsily to the wooden floor.

Then, he heard an awfully calm yet condescending voice that was filled to the brim with undertones of anger say "You've been terribly disobedient."

Miyadera Shinguji looked into Korekiyo's eyes with such ferocity he'd thought his head would explode from all the tension.

"Where the actual _HELL_ were you?"

"I was-"

"You know what? I don't even want to hear it!" She said, a dry, maniacal laugh filling the silence of the room. "You're _never_ going to be allowed to leave again!"

"I wasn't allowed to leave in the first place!"

She was unnervingly quiet.

"All I have done was be kind to you, and this is how you repay me?"

Korekiyo felt fear hit him in waves, like the sea was crashing over him with the force of a hurricane.

"All I wanted was for you to be safe!"

"I _am_ safe!"

"You're safe **now.**"

"Why do we even live out here? I want to know what happened to Mom and Dad, the actual _truth_ this time!"

Kiyo didn't know how she'd respond.

"They died in a fire." She said in a reserved tone, fury still filling her eyes.

"Who set the fire?"

"That's not _important-_"

"I said, who. Set. The. Fire?" Kiyo said, he was shaking now.

A malicious yet disgusted expression filled the mask of indifference she wore over the tone that gave everything away.

"You want to know who set the fire? Do you?"

"Yes!"

"_You did._"

Kiyo went completely quiet.

"You did it on _purpose._"

"That's not true."

"It's okay that you **killed them**, though. Want to know why? Because _I forgive you._ That's okay because I will forgive you when nobody else will. Everyone else would throw you right to the authorities. But I won't, and that is why _you should only trust me._" Miyadera spat, her voice sickly sweet and falsely encouraging.

Kiyo's eyes began to water.

"Everybody but **me** hates you."

"You should be grateful that I didn't leave you to die."

"Shut up." Kiyo whimpered through tears.

"I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO LOVES YOU, KOREKIYO!" She shouted loudly over his tears, so loudly that a certain green-haired adventurer below the tower could hear.

Kiyo saw the rope become strained with weight, and he hoped with all his heart that Miyadera wouldn't notice.

"Whoever you met on your days away doesn't care for you. They only want to use you."

Within five minutes of verbal abuse, a familiar hand covered in rings and jewelry reached into the tower.

Sister had her back turned to the window, and couldn't see Rantaro scrambling into the room.

Kiyo was quietly sobbing on the floor, and Rantaro looked over with an incredibly pained expression.

"And you-" Miyadera said, harshly turning towards Rantaro. "Should not even have found this place!" 

Rantaro bit his lip guiltily and walked away from the window in an attempt to not be pushed out the window.

"Is this the man that stole you away from me?" Sister said venomously. "Because I think I recognize him."

"Oh?" Rantaro said nervously.

"You're incredibly wanted. The Queen wants his head, did you know that? I might as well just-"

"NO!" Kiyo shouted.

"I will spare him if you agree to stay with me forever. Never leave again." She said.

"I will, I'll do anything, just please-"

"Kiyo, don't-" Rantaro said, and just then Miyadera decided to swiftly kick him in the stomach.

He keeled over in pain, groaning loudly.

Miyadera roughly punched the old mirror that stood in the front room of their tower, slicing her hand open in the process.

Blood splattered everywhere.

"Come here." Miyadera commanded, and Kiyo obeyed.

"Unwrap your hands." And he did, extending his palms as he cried.

She began to whisper something quickly, and his hands grew warm.

And then, her wounds just... disappeared.

Kiyo began re-wrapping his palms, hot tears still rolling down his face.

Miyadera reached for a shard of broken glass, holding it in front of her like a knife.

Rantaro was quick to his feet, and Miyadera swiped at him with the mirror shard.

"Please, don't-" Kiyo said, but it was already too late.

Miyadera plunged the shard into Rantaro's arm, and he shouted out loudly in pain.

"Stop it! Please!" Kiyo shouted, tears running faster than before.

He pulled his mask down, and shouted again.

"**Stop hurting him!**" 

The words exited his mouth like a tidal wave of pain and anger.

Miyadera faltered.

"Korekiyo, I didn't-"

"Just stop it! Stop lying to me! I know you started the fire!"

"Korekiyo."

"I'm tired of your..., your... bullshit!" 

Rantaro's eyes widened as he heard the timid boy swear for the first time.

"I. Am. Done!" He said, striding towards his sister, cornering her against the tower window without realizing it.

"You're a lying, manipulative, piece of-" He shoved her shoulders.

He couldn't finish his sentence, as Miyadera stumbled backwards out the tower window.

"Oh, shit!" Rantaro shouted. He was bleeding on the floor, still.

Kiyo's eyes widened in **despair** as he put his hands on the windowsill and looked down.

Her broken body laid sixty feet below, on the grass. Blood was splattered around her like it was a renaissance painting.

"I didn't- I didn't want to- I didn't mean to-" Kiyo stuttered in shock and disbelief.

"She's-"

"Dead." Rantaro finished. "She can't hurt you anymore."

Kiyo stumbled backwards against the wooden floor, panting, eyes still wide open.

Rantaro clumsily walked towards him, wrapping his non-stabbed arm around the other boy.

"It's okay, it's alright. You're okay, that's all that matters."

"I killed her." He said bluntly.

"She had it coming."

Kiyo sat there in Rantaro's arms, silence filling the room.

"You're still bleeding." He said dully after a while.

Rantaro nodded, whispering "That is true. Can you maybe use those magic healing hands on me, or whatever?" 

Kiyo nodded, slipping out of Rantaro's arms and over to the wound.

He unwrapped the bandages around his hands, and put his hands on Rantaro's glass-made cut.

He whispered something sweet and quiet, and then suddenly the wound began closing itself.

He kept muttering, and then the gash was just gone.

Rantaro laughed softly.

"Thanks for stickin' up for me, man."

Kiyo mumbled something in acknowledgement.

"I don't like the way your sister was talking to you."

Kiyo didn't respond.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"No." Korekiyo responded dryly.

Rantaro wrapped his arms around the other boy.

"I've got you."

Kiyo sunk into the hug, and the adventurer boy slowly laid them down together on the floor.

The floor that was covered with blood and broken glass.

Oh well.

Rantaro whispered something unintelligible, and Kiyo looked up at him questioningly.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." He said fondly.

"I would like to know."

"Nothing, I just love you."

Kiyo nodded sleepily, and then flushed after he processed the sentence.

"What?"

"I said, I love you." Rantaro answered nervously. "Is that weird?"

"Not at all."

"Really?"

"Yes."

There was an awkward silence between them.

"I love you too, maybe." Kiyo blurted.

Rantaro smiled, and then leaned in softly to kiss the other boy.

Their lips connected for the second time, and they kissed slowly.

It was probably a weird thing for them to do, seeing as the corpse of Korekiyo's sister was on the ground below them, but whatever.

Young love, am I right?

\---

Kiyo and Rantaro descended on the rope the morning after the incident, stepping over the corpse on the ground.

"Should we bury her?" Rantaro asked.

"No." Korekiyo replied spitefully.

"Okay."

They began their trek back to Miu and Kokichi's tavern.

"Do you still want to travel with me?" Rantaro asked after a long walk of silence.

"Of course."

"Really?"

"Forever and always." Korekiyo said, looking down with a fond expression on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! this is dumb and it was a crack idea that turned into a serious fic
> 
> this is so,, fucking long,, if you read my shigadabi stuff it's all like 1,700-2,100 words-
> 
> I like this fantasy au a lot, and I might actually make a sequel that's just mindless fluff! i'm actually really proud of this. if y'all want that sequel, comment so I know uwu


End file.
